Questions

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TheTomTrendy

New member
So I have two questions:

1) I have about a $1000 to spend for a budget home studio and I'd really like to be able to make the best recordings I can possibly make with the limited funds. I know that it isn't that much but I'm hoping that the intelligent people of this forum can help me out.

I have a decent laptop running Vista and it has a firewire port for starters. I layer instruments upon each other to create songs so it's not like I need a ton of inputs for an entire band, but I'd really like to be able to record at least four tracks at once for a drum kit (two condensers and two dynamics) so phantom power needs to be considered. I'd also like the ability to edit each individual track after it's been recorded. I heard Cubase might be my best option for the mixing software but which version? What else do I need and what would the setup be like? Please be as detailed as possible since my only experience with recording is two years with Audacity and a USB condenser.

The basics like what sort of interface and software would do is fine but please keep the budget in mind since I also need to get monitors, mics, cables, and all other peripherals.

2) I know this is a home recording site and not a stage performance one but I'd really like to know what it is that I need to create loops on stage. Here's a short example of what I'd like to do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbZXbBnjIpE

I've tried looking this topic up in many places but have had no luck in what gear is being used to perform such musical acrobatics.

I know it's a lot so thanks in advance for helping and even just for reading.
 
As far as soundcards go, an M-Audio Delta 44 might be what you need. 4 inputs, 4 outputs, about $150. I'm sure other people will have other suggestions. I'm suggesting this though because it's what I use and it's never done me wrong.

You'll want a mic preamp. DMP-3 is good apparently. Also about $150. I like the Joe Meek stuff also. Again, others will have other suggestions.

Cubase is good. I like it a lot. I use SX3. I'ts not cheap though. I would suggest giving Reaper a try. It's ridiculously cheap and very good.

But if you want to create loops live on stage, maybe check out Ableton Live 5. It's very good for that sort of thing.
 
legionserial said:
As far as soundcards go, an M-Audio Delta 44 might be what you need. 4 inputs, 4 outputs, about $150. I'm sure other people will have other suggestions. I'm suggesting this though because it's what I use and it's never done me wrong.

You'll want a mic preamp. DMP-3 is good apparently. Also about $150. I like the Joe Meek stuff also. Again, others will have other suggestions.

Cubase is good. I like it a lot. I use SX3. I'ts not cheap though. I would suggest giving Reaper a try. It's ridiculously cheap and very good.

But if you want to create loops live on stage, maybe check out Ableton Live 5. It's very good for that sort of thing.
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M-Audio Delta 44 probably won't work, as this is a PCI card, and the PC is a laptop. However M-Audio have USB and Firewire interfaces as well. These usually have mic preamps built in as well, so you need one less box on your desk. There are other brands out there as well, however I have had two M-Audio interfaces and have been happy.
 
Thanks, those are great suggestions to consider.

As far as Ableton, the way I want to make loops doesn't require any computers or software on stage. If you watch the video, it seems to be done with pedal(s) but I have no idea what pedal(s) is/are being used and how everything is wired together.
 
TheTomTrendy said:
Thanks, those are great suggestions to consider.

As far as Ableton, the way I want to make loops doesn't require any computers or software on stage. If you watch the video, it seems to be done with pedal(s) but I have no idea what pedal(s) is/are being used and how everything is wired together.
Click to expand...

It's possible that there is a computer being used somewhere, with pedals on stage interfacing with the software. I'm not too sure what those pedals are but I'd guess they'd come under the category of some kind of MIDI controller.
 
Bomer said:
Boss and digitech both make looper pedals. Boss actually has a couple different kinds. I'm sure other companies make them too.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=loop&st=
Click to expand...

I checked those out but I still have no idea how everything is setup. I saw one with a mic and instrument in but in the vid, it seems like Jon Brion is able to loop his piano, organs, drum kit, and two rhythm guitar tracks before singing and soloing.

Anyone else still have any ideas to the sort of interface I could get?
 
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